Gas-machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. D. SELF.

GAS MACHINE.

No. 397,205. I Patented Feb. 5, 1889.

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. E. D. SELF.

GAS MAGHINE.

N0. 397,205. Patented Feb. 5, 1889.

4 a j a m A n ima a M If 7 M I I I I I I v 1, I W D H 4 .WP A J 4 N.PEYERS. Phaloliflwgmpher. wnhinghn. n C.

EDIVARD I). SELF, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NI HV JERSEY.

GAS-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,205, dated February5, 1889.

Application filed Tannery 9, 1888- Serial No. 260,131. No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD I). SELF, a citizen of the United States,residing at South Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in G'ZlS-BIflOlllllQS,fully described and represented in the following specification and theaccom pan yin gd rawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to the manufacture of gas according to thoseprocesses in which atmospheric air is enriched or saturated with thevapor of a volatile hydrocarbon to produce whatis popularly known asilluminating-gas, and which will, therefore, for convenience, be hereintermed gas.

In the manufacture of this class of gas atmospheric air is caused topass through a closed vessel, called a carburetor, which contains anet-work of burlap, cantonflannel, or otherabsorbent material, which issaturated with gasoline or other volatile hydrocarbon. The air inpassing through the 111- terstices of the absorbent material becomessaturated with the volatile hydrocarbon, and thus produces a gassuitable for illumination.

I11 making gas in this manner it has been found that when the operationis commenced and the material in the carburetor is saturated with themost volatile portions of the hydrocarbon the air passed through thecarburetor becomes saturated with a vapor which is very rich in carbon,and as a consequence the gas made during this part of the operation whenburned gives off a large amount of smoke. As the gas-making continues,however, the hydrocarbon in the carburetor becomes less and lessvolatile, and as a consequence the amount of carbon contained in the gasproduced gradually diminishes until the carburetor is exhausted.

To avoid the smoke resulting from the excess of carbon which enters thegas during the iirst part of the operation, it has been proposed tointroduce a sufficient quantity of pure air into the gas to reduce ordilute it to such an extent that it will burn without producing smoke.

I11 prior applications'for Letters Patent filed by me in the PatentOflice 011 February 11, 1887, Serial No. 927,249, and July 19, 1887,

zation of the apparatus shown in my said applicat-ions, and has for itsobject to secure a more accurate automatic regulation of the amount ofpure air introduced into the gas to conform to temporary variations inthe rate of production and consumption.

In the organization shown in my said prior applications the air which isto be treated to produce the is forced bya pump through the carburetor,and after leaving the carburetor the gas passes through amixing-chamber, into which the pure air for diluting the gas is forceddirectly from the pump. In order to maintain uniform pressure in thecarburetor and the gas-supply pipes, the pipe through which the airpasses to the carburetor or through which the gas passes from thecarburetor is provided with an ordinary fluidpressure regulatorconsisting of a regulatingvalve controlled by a diaphragm which operatesby the pressure of the air or gas in the pipes to regulate the quantityof pure air introduced into the gas to conform to temporary and abruptchanges in the rate of production or consumption, and the pipe throughwhich the pure air passes to the mixing-chamber is provided with asimilar regulator. In practice it was found that this latter regulator,owing to the small volume of air passing through it, was not, unlessmade very delicate, sufficiently sensitive to produce as accurateresults as were desirable, and I have found that this di fiiculty can beovercome and practically accurate results secured by so organizing thetwo regulators that the val which'regulates the supply of pure air totlQL-l gas will be controlled by a diaphragm which is acted on andoperated by the pressure of the larger volume of .air or gas, and thepresent invention consists in an organization by which this is effected.

As a full understanding of the invention ICO and the manner of applyingthe same to actual use can be best given by a detailed description ofthe organizatioi'i and operation of an apparatus embodying it, allfurther preliminary description will. be omitted and a detaileddescription given, reference being had to the accompanyin drawings, inwhich Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the organization of agas-machine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged verticalsection of the regulating apparatus. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectiontaken on the line 3 of Fig. Fig. l is a similar view taken on the line4: ol": the same figure.

Referring to said. figures, it is to be understood that A represents acarburetor of the ordinary form, and 1- a pump or other airsum'ilyingapparatus, also of. any of the ordinary terms. As herein shown, theair-supplying apparatus is a rotary pump, and is driven by a weight,(,1, which is connected by a cord, c, to a drum, (1, on the shaft of thepump. The drum a is connected to the shaft of the pump by a pawl andratchet, (not shown,) so that the cord can be rewound upon the drumwithout revolving the pump. The pump is connected with the carluiretorby a pipe, Z), through which the air is forced from the pump to thecarburetor, and the gas passes from the carburetor through a pipe, (I,to the burners or place of storage. The pipe I) is provided with abranch, j, which communicates with a mixing-chamber, E, located in thepipe (7, and through which a certain quantity of pure air is allowed topass, so as to mix with the gas and properly dilute it.

Located in the pipe I] at its junction with the branch f is thegoverning apparatus, which. operates to regulate the pressure of the airforced through the carburetor, and also to vary the (piantity of pureair introduced into the gas during the dili'erent periods of thegas-making operation to conform to the quality or richness of the gas,and also to temporary vm'iatitms in the rate of production orconsumption.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 2, and at, the construction andorganization of the governing apparatus will be described.

This apparatus consists, primarily, of what may be termed a doublefluid-pressure regulator, which operates upon the same gei'lcralprinciple as most of the regulators of this general class. Theregulati'i'ig ap ntratus is contained within a shell or casing which isso forn'ied as to provide two chambers, g 71, with which the two partsof the pipe I) communieate. These two chambers are ((lllllOfil't-"Ll byan. opening, 2, which is controlled by a downwardly-openiilg valve, 3,the rod 20 of which LS1 connected to a flexible diaphragm, p, whichcloses the upper side of the chamber 71. The edges of the diaphragm 2)rest upon a shoulder formed on the casing or shell of the apparatus, andthe diaphragm is held in place by a ring, 4:, which fits down above it.The

top of the casing is closed by a plate, 7, forming a chamber, q, abovethe diaphragm, which con'nnnnicates with the open air by means of a ventor pipe, .9. The chamber 71 communicates by a passage, n, with achamber, 7.", formed in the lower part of the casing, which i in turncommunicates witha chamber, I, from which leads the branch air-pipe 1".

The rod 2o of the valve 3 is extended downward, passing through anopening in the bottom of the chamber g, and carries at its lower end adownwardly-opening valve, 5, which controls the passage between thechambers 7; l. The opening in the bottom of the chamber g, through whichthe rod. 20 passes, is closed by a small flexible diaphragm, '1',through which the rod passes and to which it is secured. This diaphragmis of just sufficient size to allow the rod to have the necessarylongitudinal movement. A stufti'ng-l'mx might be substituted for thediaphragm i to secure a t i ght j oin t around the red; but thediaphragm is preferable, because it causes less friction. The top of.the chamber 1 is in the case shown closed by a flexible diaphragm,through which the rod 20 also passes, and which is secured to the rod.By this means a closed chamber, 777, is formed between thetllitlllllttg'lll and the bottom of the chamber r and in order toprevent the air contained in this chamber from being confined, so as toprevent the proper opmration of the diaphragm a passage, (3, isprovided, which puts this chamber in communication, with. the chamber q,and thus allows a free entrance and escape for the air.

It is to be remarked that the diaphragms p f, instead of being of theform shown, may be in the form of invert ed cups having their rimssealed in reservoirs of mercury or other scaling-fluid, and also that insome cases the diaphragm maybe omitted. In such case the chambers! inwill become one chamber and the airpassage U will be omitted. The lowerpart of the casin containing the chamber I: will preferably be made in aseparate casting, as shown, and in such case the diaphragm I will besecured in position by hav ing its edges insm-ted between the two partsof the casing. The upper edge of: the lower part of the casing may beprovided with a number of pins, as 7, which will impale the edge of thedialihragm and aid in holding it in position.

The seat 8 of the valve is carried upon a tubular su iiport, 1t), whicharranged to have a vertical m ovement with relation to the valve andpasses through a packing, 9, by which a tight joint is formed around it.The lower end of the tulmlar support it) is provided with a ytjilce, 18,to which is swiveled a threaded rod, 17, which passes through a nut,'10, in the bottom of the regulator.

The lower end of the shaft '17 is provided with a ln'oad-faced gear, 12,which is ci'igaged by a gear, 13, mounted upon a vertical shaft, whichalso carries a bevel-gear, 1-1, which is in turn engaged by a'bevehgeai', 15, mounted IIO - upon. a horizontal shaft, 11, whichreceives motion from the pump-shaft through a train of gears, 21, andconnections, such as described in my prior application, No. 2l4,68(before referred to. It is to be remarked, however, that'the shaft 17 mayreceive motion through any other suitable form of conneciions or fromany other source, as fully set forth in my said application.

The operation of the apparatus thns organiized is as follows: Thecarburetor-having been filled, the rod 17 will be adjusted to suchposition as to raise the valve-seat 8 to the proper extent above thenormal position of the valve 5, and the connections will then be soadjusted that as the pump is operated the rod will be turned in its nutand gradually lower the valveseat. The pump being then set in mo tion,which will. be effected automatically whenever the cock or cockscontrolling one or more burners are opened, the air will be forcedthrough the pipe I) and enter the chamber g, and, passing the valve 3,will enter the chamber 71 below the diaphragm p, as indieated by thearrows. From the chamber 72 the main body of the air will continuethrough the pipe Z) and enter the carburetor, and pass thence throughthe pipe (Z to the mixingchamber E. A portion of the air which entersthe chamber h Will, however, pass into the duct n and enter to thechamber 71"., and pass thence past the valve 5 to the chamber Z beneaththe diaphragm t, and thence through the pipe f to the mixing-chamber E,where it will mingle with and dilute the gas entering that chamber fromthe carburetor. At the commencement of the operation,when the carburetorhas been freshly filled, the gas produced will, as before explained,require the maximum dilution, and the valve-seat 8 will therefore at thecommencement of the opera tion be so adjusted as to allow the maximumamount of air to pass. As the operation continues, however, and the gasproduced becomes poorer and requires less dilution, the movement of thepump communicated to the rod 17 will gradually lower the valve-seat 8and reduce the area of the valve-opening, so as to gradually diminishthe quantity of pure air introduced into the gas, and the parts will beso timed and adjusted that the position of the valve-seat will always besuch as to admit the proper amount of air to conform to the quality ofthe gas produced at that time, all as more fully set forth in my priorapplications hereinbefore referred to. As the pressure in the pipes (I,f, and b is varied by the o )ening and closing of the cocks of theburners or by irrcgulari ties in the action of the pumps, suchvariations in pressure will be at once communicated to the diaphragmspt, and will operate said diaphragms to open or close the valves 3 5,and thus not only maintain a uniform pressure in the pipes, but causethe amount of pure air which is allowed to pass the valve 5 to conformto the number of lights burning, or, in other words,

to the rate at which the gas is being i'nade and consumed. Thislast-mentioned result isinsured by having the two valves 3 5 controlledby a diaphragm which is subjected to the pressure of the entire volumeof air delivered from the pump, and in eiiectin g the result it ispreferable that the two valves should be operated by the same rod, asshown, as in such case the two valves are always sure to occupy theproper relative positionsthat is to say, the amount of air allowed topass the valve 5 will always be a certain proportion of the whole amountwhich passes the valve 3. In some cases the diaphragm 1. may be omitted;but the apparatus will be rendered more sensitive by employing the twodiaphragms, as shown.

In operating gas-imichincs of this class it is found that the richnessof the gas is affected by the ehan of the temperature of the surroundingatmosphere-that is to say, as the temperature rises the hydrocarbonbecomes more volatile, and as a consequence the gas produced is richer,and vice versa. The rod 20 is thereforemade of a metal orcompositionsuch, for example, as vulcanite-whieh has a largeco-eiiicient of expansion by heat relatively to the other parts of theapparatus, so that the increase in the richness of the gas caused by anyrise in the temperature will be counteracted by an increased amount ofpure air admitted by the expansion of the rod and the consequentlowering of the valve, and vice versa.

The matter relating to regulating and varying the quantity of pure airintroduced into the gas to conform to the quality of the gas producedduring different periods of the gasmaking operation is not hereinclaimed, as

such matter is claimedin my prior applications, Serial Nos. 222%?) and244,686, hereinbefore referred to.

\Vhat I claim is 1. I11 a gas-machine, the combination, withthe'carlniretor and the pipe for supplying air thereto, of the pipe forsupplying pure air to the gas, a regulating-valve for controlling theamount of pure air admitted, and a diaphragm connected to said valve andsubjected to and operated by the pressure of the-air passing to thecarburetor, substantially as described.

2. In a gas-machine, the combination,with the carlnireiorand the pipefor supplying air thereto, of the pipe for supplying pure air to thegas, a regulai.ing-valve for controlling the amount of air admitted tothe carburetor, a regulating-valve for controlling the amount of pureair admitted to the gas, and a diaphragln sub j ectcd to and operated bythe pressure of the air admitted to the carburetor and connected to andcontrolling both of said valves, substantially as described.

3. In a gas-machine, the combination, with the carburetor and the pipefor supplying air thereto, of the pipe for supplying pure air to thegas, a regulating-valve for controlling the amount of air admitted tothe carlimretor, a regulatingwalve for controlling the amount of pureair admitted to the gas, avalve-rod carrying both of said valves, and adiaphragm connected. to said rod and subjected to and operated by thepressure of the air admitted to the carburetor, substz'intially asdescribed.

4'. In a gas-machine, the combination, with the carburetor and the pipefor supplying air thereto, oi. the pipe for supplying pure air to thegas, a regulating-valve for controlling the amount of air admitted tothe carburetor, a regulating-valve for controlling the amount of pureair admitted to the gas, a valve-rod carrying both of said valves, adiaphragm connected to said rod and subjected to and operated by thepressure of the air admitted to the carlmretor, and the diaphragm i, forforming a tightjoint around the rod, substantially as described.

5. In a gasanachine, the con'ilnnation, with the carburetor and the pipefor supplying air thereto, of the pipe for supplying pure air to thegas, aregulating-valye for CUl'llllOlllllg' the amount of air adnr ed tothe carburetor, a

regulaiingwalve for controlling the amount of pure air admitted to thegas, a valve-rod carrying both of said valt'es, a diaphragm connected tosaid rod and subjected to and operated by the pressure of the airadmitted to the carburetor, and a second diaphragm, also connected tosaid rod and subjected to and operated by the pressure of the pure airadmitted to the gas, substantially as described.

6. In a gas-machine, the combination, with a carburetor, the pipe I),for supplying air thereto, and the pipe f, for supplying pure air to thegas, of the regulating apparatus having the chambers g h, communicatingWith the two parts of the pipe I), the chamber 1, coml'nunicating withthe pipe f, the duct 11, and chamber 70, affording communication betweenthe chambers 7L 1, the diaphragm p, the rod 20, connected to thediaphragm, and the valves 3 5, connected to said rod and controlling thepassages between the chambers g 71 and 71: Z, respectively,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing 50 witnesses.

EDWARD D. SELF.

Witnesses:

J. J. KENNEDY, G. M. .Bonsr.

